In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious the Most Merciful
Truly, We did offer Al-Amânah to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but
they declined to bear it and were afraid of it. But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust (to
himself) and ignorant (of its results). So that Allâh will punish the hypocrites, men and
women, and the men and women who are Al-Mushrikûn, And Allâh will pardon the true
believers, men and women. And Allâh is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. [33:72-738]
I would like to just touch a bit about amanah. In Islam, amanah has a wide meaning. One of it is trustworthiness. In particular, I would like to talk about amanah in education. What does it means?
Today I read on the news about a person who allegedly got a PhD from a bogus university. And the news are coming from a reputable newspaper which should be true. I wonder how can a person carries the bogus qualification and feel OK about it? Don't you feel that you are lying to the masses and most importantly lying to oneself? 1
Having done a PhD myself, I know that it is not easy to get one. Therefore when you see in the tv, in the radio, certain people carry the Dr. title while you sort of know that he is not an academician and did not spend the time and effort to get one... you just feel disgusted. Yet alone how many people are 'deluded' with the title that he/she carries with him.
In a smaller context , for those who are still doing undergraduate studies in universities or students in high or primary schools, how does one carry this amanah? Again the topic is wide, but I would like to touch on the amanah during assessment. Amanah in exams and quizzes, amanah in lab reports and projects, amanah in writing up a thesis.
Which brings up the topic of cheating. I heard many stories from students about other students cheating, and it really bothers me. Especially when I know that the students are muslim students!! How can they cheat? Don't they fear Allah and His punishment? Or perhaps they think that cheating in exam (utk hidup kononnya) is different than cheating to Allah?
I will write more on cheating, inshaAllah, but for now, I hope none of IIUM students will cheat, ameen.
1 link to the news here.